MOSCOW - Russia firmly denies accusations from the United States and its allies regarding Russia's illegal military-technical cooperation with North Korea (North Korea), said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Friday (26/1).
Zakharova said at a press conference in Moscow that the US fabricated the story about Russian-North Korean military cooperation so that South Korea (South Korea) would be on the US side regarding Russia's war against Ukraine.
Zakharova noted that South Korean military officials started talking about military assistance to Ukraine shortly after rumors of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang emerged.
He said that the US spread rumors with the intention of finding additional resources to replenish Ukraine's arsenal, as well as to develop military infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Russia has the right to develop friendly relations with North Korea. Cooperation with this country has long historical roots, does not threaten the security of neighboring countries and has stood the test of time," he said.
Turning to NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) plan to hold a large-scale military exercise called Steadfast Defender 2024 near the Russian border, Zakharova slammed the plan as "provocative."
"This step is deliberately aimed at exacerbating the situation and increasing the risk of a military incident and, as a result, could have tragic consequences for Europe," he warned.
For months, a group of 90,000 troops from 31 NATO member countries and Sweden will be near Russia's borders in areas ranging from Norway to Romania, Zakharova said.
"Russia has no plans to attack NATO countries," he said.
Zakharova also criticized Sweden's entry into NATO, which could be imminent, and said the move would have a "very negative effect" on stability in Northern Europe and the Baltic region.
"Abandoning the long-standing policy of military non-alignment and joining a bloc that is openly hostile to Russia is unlikely to strengthen the sense of security among ordinary Swedes," he said.
Russia will take responsive steps as Sweden's entry into NATO is at risk. Concrete steps will be determined depending on what systems NATO will deploy in Sweden, he said.
On Thursday (25/1), the law passed by the Turkish parliament approving Sweden's membership in NATO was published in Turkey's Official Gazette Announcement, which is the final stage of ratification.
Acceptance of new members requires the full voting support of all NATO members. Hungary is currently the only member state that has not ratified Sweden's accession.
Nasser Hospital in Gaza is running out of fuel, food and supplies
London - Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday (26/1) said 350 patients and 5,000 refugees were still staying at the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza which was running out of fuel, food and supplies.
As fighting around the hospital in Khan Younis escalated, hundreds of patients and health workers fled for their lives, Tedros said.
“Currently 350 patients and 5,000 refugees are still staying in hospitals. "The hospital is running out of fuel, food and supplies," he wrote on the X platform along with a video from the hospital.
Also read: Israeli tanks attack hospitals and injure residents in southern Gaza
According to Tedros, fighting around hospitals continues and access to bringing back supplies “is still blocked.”
“We call for an immediate ceasefire, so we can replenish desperately needed life-saving supplies,” he said.
Israel has launched deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7 that killed at least 26,083 Palestinians and injured 64,487 others.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have died in Hamas attacks.
Israel's war has displaced 85 percent of Gaza's population amid a food, clean water and medicine crisis, with more than half of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or even destroyed, according to the UN.
Vice President: Foreign Minister Retno's "walk out" action emphasized that Indonesia supports Palestine
Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said that the walk out action carried out by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi when Israel spoke at the UN Security Council open debate showed Indonesia's commitment to continuing to support Palestine.
Foreign Minister Retno and a number of foreign ministers from other countries decided to leave the room when Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan spoke at the UN Security Council's open debate regarding Palestine, which took place in New York, USA, Tuesday (23/1).
When asked for his response by the media crew on the sidelines of his working visit to Rembang Regency, Central Java, Saturday, Vice President Ma'ruf emphasized that the Indonesian people have consistently supported Palestinian independence which will continue to be voiced at the international level.
"I think the attitude of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Retno) shows our attitude. For a long time we have wanted colonized countries to be independent. "Especially for Palestine, we have repeatedly said that Palestine must become an independent country," said Ma'ruf, as conveyed in a written statement from the Press Bureau of the Secretariat of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia.
According to him, Foreign Minister Retno's actions also reflect the Indonesian government's firm stance against Israeli colonialism in Palestine.
"So, the walk out shows our attitude (which) does not agree and reject Israel's opinion," said Vice President Ma'ruf.
In this case, he said, Israel always assumes that the struggle of the Palestinian people to defend their rights is an act of terrorism - which is used as an excuse by Israel to continue its attacks against the Palestinian people.
"Indeed, their mantra is always to say that Hamas is a terrorist, then carry out attacks. "In fact, it was the resistance of the colonized people in order to free themselves from colonialism," said Ma'ruf.
The Vice President revealed that what Hamas has been doing so far is a form of resistance to colonialism on their land. Therefore, Indonesia will remain in the ranks of Palestinian supporters.
"So I interpret the Hamas attack on Israel as wanting to show that we (the Palestinians) exist, and want to get international attention. I think that's clear. "So our stance has been from the start and will not stop supporting Palestinian independence," he said.
Meanwhile, regarding the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ordered Israel to take steps to stop the genocide in the Gaza region, the Vice President believes that this decision must also be interpreted as an end to the attacks which have been the demands of many parties.
“So, there must be no genocide, which means we must stop the attacks. Stopping the attack has become the UN's decision, it has become the decision of various countries. "I think these two things are related, preventing genocide also means stopping war," said Vice President Ma'ruf.
Accompanying the Vice President when giving a press statement this time, Acting. Governor of Central Java Nana Sudjana, Regent of Rembang Abdul Hafidz Special Staff to the Vice President for Communication and Information Masduki Baidlowi, Caretaker of the Kauman Lasem Islamic Boarding School, KH Moch. Zaim Ahmad Ma'shoem.